Community Solar Goes Big With SunShare In Minnesota

In Minnesota, a company called SunShare, the nation’s pathfinder in community solar, has secured $11 million in construction/term project financing from ANB Bank for the production of 8.2 MWdc of community solar gardens in Minnesota. Construction has begun on the SaintSun (6.9 MWdc) and ZumbroSun (1.3 MWdc) projects in Saint Michael and Zumbro Falls, Minnesota, and they are presumed to reach mechanical completion starting in October 2018.

“We’ve been building community solar gardens for almost a decade to make solar energy available and affordable to everyone. Securing construction financing through our own balance sheet is a critical proof point that speaks to the bankability of SunShare and its residential-focused community solar model,” stated David Amster-Olszewski, SunShare’s founder and CEO. “With the assistance of partners like ANB Bank, we’ll be able to continue to execute on our pipeline of solar community projects and expand the energy of clean energy choice to even more communities across the country.”

Both the SaintSun and ZumbroSun community solar schemes are being built by Conti Solar, a full turnkey EPC services contractor with a strong reputation as a highly experienced and reliable EPC partner. These two projects will consist of six total community solar gardens, which will assist about 1,200 households in Carver, Wabasha, and adjacent counties, as well as Saint Mary’s University. Subscribers will begin accepting the benefits of clean solar power as well as credits on their Xcel Energy utility bills for energy generated by the gardens once the interconnection method is completed in late 2018 or early 2019.

Some Solar Company Did Things

“SunShare’s firm track record in community solar and its dedication to quality in the development and construction of their community solar gardens is a benefit to subscribers. We are proud to partner with them in building more clean generation, no-carbon electricity choices for Minnesota,” stated Eric Millard, CCO of Conti Solar.

Competing community solar programs got their inception with a 2 MW pilot program in Colorado Springs in 2011 and are now the fastest growing sector of the solar industry according to a 2018 report released by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). Community solar programs and/or organizations now exist in 19 states with overall program capacity in the gigawatts.

Banks Talk About Solar

ANB Bank has 30 banking centers located in Colorado, Wyoming and the Kansas City metro district. Its parent firm, Sturm Financial Group is headquartered in Denver, CO, and its $2.6 billion in assets ranked it in the top six percent of banks nationwide by area.

“ANB prides itself on serving regional communities and we’re pleased to finance this project that will provide the benefits of solar to individuals and families in Minnesota,” said Bob Lynn, senior vice president at ANB Bank. “We support energy projects that directly and positively impact the municipalities in which they are located.”

SunShare has formed over 90 MWdc of operating community solar gardens and serves the largest active residential subscriber base in the community solar industry. SunShare’s community solar gardens permit homeowners, renters, government organizations, and small businesses that may not otherwise have the capacity to install solar panels on their home or building to participate in and serve from renewable energy.

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